Kailer Yamamoto, center, celebrates his first-period goal against Denmark on Tuesday with Brady Tkachuk, left, and Logan Brown. Getty Images at the 2018 World Junior Ice Hockey Championship in dominant fashion on Tuesday night with a 9-0 rout of Denmark. This year's tournament, which opened Tuesday in Buffalo, N.Y., features some of the best under-20 talent in the world, including plenty of NHL prospects. As is the case every year, it's . From 2018 draft eligible studs to young prospects already drafted into NHL systems, the WJC is a great entry point for exposure to some young talent. Here's how the preliminary grouping is set up this year: Group A Canada United States Denmark Slovakia Finland Group B Ru sia Czech Republic Sweden Switzerland Belarus Here are a few of the most-hyped players heading into the tournament: Rasmus Dahlin, Sweden (projected top overall pick in 2018 NHL Draft) Andrei Svechnikov, Ru sia (top prospect for 2018 NHL Draft) Casey Middelstadt, United States (2017 first-round pick) , Canada (2017 St. Louis first-round pick) , Sweden (2017 first-round pick) , Finland (2017 first-round pick) Filip Zadina, Czech Republic (top Matt Canterino Jersey prospect for 2018 NHL Draft) , Finland (2017 first-round pick) Quinn Hughes, United States (top prospect for 2018 NHL Draft) , Canada (2016 third-round pick) With the event taking place in Buffalo, both the United States and Canada will have favorable TV time slots. What has happened in the preliminary round? Team USA almost hit double digits in downing Denmark Tuesday, but here's how the rest of the opening world juniors games unfolded: Tuesday, Dec. 26 Czech Republic went up 4-2 on Ru sia through two periods and hung on for a 5-4 victory Belarus was routed by Sweden , managing just nine shots on goal in a 6-1 decision Canada got four goals from four different players to top Finland , 4-2 Wednesday, Dec. 27 Switzerland mounted a third period comeback to beat Belarus , 3-2 Canada picks up their second win in two days with a 6-0 shutout of Slovakia Schedule, TV info Thursday, Dec. 28 Finland outshout Denmark 62-7 en route to a 4-1 win Ru sia scored three late goals to escape a scare from Switzerland , 5-2 Sweden picked up their second straight victory with a 3-1 win over Czech Republic Slovakia pulls off a major upset by beating the United States , 3-2 Friday, Dec. 29 Ru sia picked up its second win of the preliminary round with a 5-2 victory over Belarus United States erased a two-goal deficit to stun Canada with a 4-3 shootout win Saturday, Dec. 30 Czech Republic held off Belarus for a 6-5 win Sweden got four straight goals in the third period and beat Switzerland, 7-2 Finland got five goals from five different players to beat Slovakia , 5-2 Canada locked up the top seed in Group A with 8-0 win over Denmark Sunday, Dec. 31 Czech Republic toppled Switzerland , 6-3 The United States locked up the two-seed with a dramatic win over Finland Slovakia denied Denmark with a 5-1 victory Sweden beat Ru sia in a shootout, 4-3 Tuesday, Jan. 2 (Quarterfinals) Finland vs. Czech Republic, 12 p.m. (NHL Network, TSN 1/3/4/5) Denmark vs. Belarus, 2 p.m. (Relegation) Canada vs. Switzerland, 4 p.m. (NHL Network, TSN 1/4/5) Sweden vs. Slovakia, 6 p.m. (TSN3) United States vs. Ru sia, 8 p.m. (NHL Network, TSN1/4/5) Thursday, Jan. 4 (Semifinals) Denmark vs. Belarus, 12 p.m. (Relegation) TBD vs. TBD, 4 p.m. TBD vs. TBD, 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 5 (Finals) Denmark vs. Belarus, 12 p.m. (Relegation) Bronze medal game : TBD vs. TBD, 4 p.m. Gold medal game : TBD vs. TBD, 8 p.m. Brent Headrick Jersey